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1. CORTLAND

Cortland had one loss on its schedule last season, and it came at the hands of Salisbury in the national championship game. The Red Dragons return a ton from last season’s runner-up team and have the potential to be playing on Memorial Day weekend again.

The entire defense returns, and that should be the strength of the team this season. They have three returning All-Americans on the back end including the top returning goalie in the nation in Mike Kaminski. Craig Sullivan and Brian Winterfeldt are the two other AAs on the back end, and the tandem will anchor one of the top defenses in the country.

The offense will be looking to replace two major pieces from last season in Mike Tota and Greg Wright. This season two juniors, attackman Cody Consul and midfielder Joe Slavik, will lead the way on offense. Consul is the top returning point scorer and Slavik is one of the top middies in the nation so the young group will be in good hands.

Coach Steveb Beville has challenged the Red Dragons once again with a tough out-of-conference schedule that includes Union, Stevens, Cabrini, RIT, and WNEU all NCAA tournament teams last season.

2. TUFTS

Tufts came up one game short of a third straight championship game with a Final Four loss to Cortland. The Jumbos have all the pieces to make another run deep into May this season.

On offense the Jumbos return two starters from last season’s high-scoring attack in Junior Beau Wood and Sophomore Cole Bailey. The duo works well together with Bailey being the distributor and Wood a sharp shooting finisher.

The entire close defense returns and will be one of the toughest in the nation this season. Senior Matt Callahan is the leader on D and is a returning first-team All-American. In cage, the Jumbos return a three-year starter in Patton Watkins.

Clearly, the two game suspensions of 27 players puts Tufts in a tough spot for those games, but this is a deep talented team that can recover. Games against Stevens and Stevenson highlight their out-of-conference schedule and combined with their NESCAC games the Jumbos have one of the tougher schedules in DIII this year.

3. RIT

The Tigers will be a very young team this year that will need a bunch of underclassman to contribute to meet the high expectations for this group. The news that sophomore Brendan MacDonald will not be playing this spring leaves another big hole for coach Jake Coon to fill.

The strength of RIT this year will be the defense, which returns the most experience on the team. Two senior captains will headline the defense this season in Elliott Cowburn and Evan Burley. They have a goalie competition between Pat Johnson and Anthony DeLeo. Johnson was the starter going into last season until a knee injury in the first game ended his season. DeLeo started the remainder of the games and proved he is more than capable of the job.

The midfield is headlined by two excellent junior FOGOs: P.J. Hart and Tyler Brooks-Lambert. The tandem should get the Tigers plenty of possessions this year. Midfielder Taylor Wisman should be the leader on offense. Sophomores Allister Warren and Kyle Aquin will round out the top midfield line which is one of the deepest units on the team.

RIT opens its season with the Face-Off Yearbook preseason No. 1 Stevenson on Feb. 27. The Liberty League favorite will need to put its young pieces together to finish atop the tough conference again.

4. STEVENS

Coach Gene Peluso’s Ducks are a team that could make a serious run in the postseason. Stevens returns experience all over the field for a team that advanced to the second round of last year’s tournament.

The midfield is one of the deepest in the nation and has three returning All-Americans. Rich Dupras, Nick Phillipi, and Harrison Dorne are all seniors and comprise the most dangerous midfield in the country. They create mismatches for every team they face, and it is an absolute pick your poison situation for their opponents. The relatively young and inexperienced attack unit will rely heavily on the midfield early on until they get themselves acclimated.

Stevens’ defense is led by LSM Tim Culloty, who is a do-it-all player for them. He takes face-offs, is the returning GB leader, and tallied eight points last season on two goals and six assists. Senior Tyler Burgrasser is the top close defenseman and will be looked upon to help along a young group. In cage The Ducks return Matt Deiner who started the last 6 games of the season in ’12.

If Stevens can bring the rest of the team up to speed with their midfield they could be a team that represents the North in Philadelphia on Memorial Day weekend.

5. TRINITY

The Bantams are a senior-heavy team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tourney last season. With the experience they have coming back Trinity is poised to make another postseason appearance.

The major question mark for Trinity this season is who will fill the giant hole left by All-American Peter Johnson in net. A group of players are vying for the open spot. The good news for whoever earns the starting job is that the defense will return starters Will Naughton and Chris Novick at close and LSM Charlie Finnegan.

The leader on offense is attackman Rob Nogueras the top goal scorer from last season with 42. He will be helped by Jeff Hebert on attack and an all senior midfield line of Nick Shaheen, Matt Cohen, and Steven Manning.

If coach Michael Higgins can fill the void left in goal the Bantams should be a top team in the highly competitive NESCAC league. They surely are one of the teams that could make some noise in May.

6. UNION

Union is another team that is left with a big hole in net to fill. Gone is last season’s top goalie in the nation Sean Aaron. Hall-of-Fame coach Paul Wherum has returning starters all over the field and they are more than capable of picking up the slack.

The leader to replace Aaron in goal is sophomore Stefan Basile, a former H.S. All-American keeper. He played some in relief last season and will be able to grow into his new role thanks to the experienced defense. The defense will be led by returning starter junior Kyle McQuiggan and senior LSM Kendall Delgado.

Rob Santangelo is the unquestioned leader on offense for The Dutchmen. His 49 points (25G, 24A) led the team last season along with scooping 42 GB’s. Nolan Connors is another threat at attack for Union and Nate Greenberg leads the way for a deep midfield unit. They also have a top face-off man with senior Alex Stone. If he can improve on last year’s 63% the Dutchmen will be in great shape.

Union will start the season off with Cortland on March 2, the team that ended its season in ‘12. A matchup with last year’s national runner-up will be a great test to start the season and prepare them for Liberty League games.

7. SPRINGFIELD

The Pride return some nice pieces from last season’s team that lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In order for Keith Bugbee’s squad to make it back, it will need to count on some young and inexperienced players to fill some important roles.

The entire starting attack unit returns and are led by junior Ryon Lynch. Lynch was the leader in assists last season with 34 and is the quarterback of the unit. Dylan Sheehan is the top returning goal scorer and is a finisher that works well with Lynch. The top midfielder on the team should be Bryce Serriello a transfer from DII American International College.

Another strength for Springfield is in net, where they return All-American Robert Maher. He will have to be on his game because there will be three new starters on defense.

The Pride is the favorite to win the Pilgrim League this year but they will have their work cut out for them with their out of conference schedule. They will be playing four teams that were NCAA Tournament participants last year in Stevens, Union, Bowdoin, and WNEU. They have also added traditionally tough teams with games against Middlebury, Nazareth, and Endicott. If they make the postseason they will no doubt be a tested team.

8. WNEU

Western New England University returns experience all over the field and could improve upon last season’s second round exit in the NCAA tourney.

Senior SSDM Corey Johnson is one of the top in the nation. He is a vacuum on GBs and is tough to beat one on one. Aaron Harris was an All-American defenseman last season and will continue to be the leader on D for the Golden Bears. Brandon Body started six games in goal last season filling in for the graduated AA Brewster Knowlton and should be a more than capable netminder this year.

On offense, WNEU will have James Reardon who led the team in assists last year with 19 from the midfield. Nick Jez is a fifth-year senior who will be a big part of the offense as well. The attack will feature Corbett Corrigan Harreys, Owen Caruso, and Adam Knapton all three have experience as starters.

The reigning Commonwealth Conference champs shouldn’t have much trouble with their conference schedule and will undoubtedly be one of the teams looking to make some noise in the North this season.

9. BOWDOIN

First-year coach Jason Archbell’s Polar Bears are the third ranked team from the NESCAC. He will have a balanced team that has starters returning all over the field from last year’s NCAA tournament team.

Chris Williamson should be the top goalie this year in the NESCAC. He started every game last season for Bowdoin and if he can carry the momentum from last season he will once again be tough to score on. Senior Max Rosner is a captain and will be the top close defenseman.

On offense senior Bill Bergner, last season’s leading scorer is back at attack. His 21 goals, and 21 assists show just how balanced his game is. He will be joined by Patrick Lawton and Franklin Reiss at attack. The midfield is relatively inexperienced but Connor O’Toole and Dan Hanley are the top returners.

The NESCAC is a dog fight every year and this year will be no different. Bowdoin has the pieces to win the conference and should be in the conversation as a top team all year.

10. ST. LAWRENCE

The Saints are a top team in the North every season. Even if they don’t win the Liberty League they should be able to play themselves into a Pool C bid. With experience at every position they will be a tough matchup for every team they play.

Senior Dave Hovey led the team in assists last season with 29 and the offense will run through him once again this season. Junior midfielder Pierson Fowler tied for the lead in goals in ‘12 with 21 and will be looking to improve upon a breakout sophomore campaign.

Brian Wilber is the lone returning starter on defense. The senior is aggressive and athletic and is a nice backbone to the least experienced unit on the team. In net Coach Mahoney used a platoon system last season with Jack Nuland and Jeff Goeke and is expected to do the same this year. Many say that when you have two goalies you have no goalies but the Saints might be an exception to that rule. Both keepers have shown that they are more than capable stoppers.

The Saints have increased their strength of schedule this season adding matchups against Bowdoin, Nazareth, and Middlebury which should help them secure a pool C bid if they don’t happen to win the Liberty League this year.